Electronic device with supporting member

ABSTRACT

An electronic device ( 10 ) includes a housing ( 30 ) and a supporting member ( 50 ) for supporting the housing. The housing includes a wall ( 31 ) and a plurality of vents ( 32 ) disposed on the wall. The supporting member includes a base ( 52 ) and a pair of upright walls ( 54 ). The base includes at least one securing member ( 522 ) and an opening ( 525 ). The securing member is engaged with one of the corresponding vents. The opening is aligned with the vents. The pair of upright walls bilaterally extend up from opposite edges of the base and defines a receiving space for receiving a part of the housing.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to an electronic device, and specificallyto an electronic device with a supporting member.

2. Description of Related Art

Many devices, and particularly electronic devices such as access points,modems, ADSL's (Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Lines), and so on, arecommonly used nowadays. Conventionally, these devices are configured tobe placed on a surface in a horizontal position when in use. However, inmany circumstances, it may be inconvenient to place the device in ahorizontal position because of limited space. Therefore, these devicessometimes need to be placed vertically. Nevertheless, without any helpfrom other mechanism, these devices cannot be placed vertically by theirown because an available placing area on their sides are usually narrowor small.

Therefore, a heretofore unaddressed need exists in the industry toovercome the aforementioned deficiencies and inadequacies.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In an aspect of the embodiment, an electronic device includes a housingand a supporting member for supporting the housing. The housing includesa wall and a plurality of vents disposed on the wall. The supportingmember includes a base and a pair of upright walls. The base includes atleast one securing member and an opening. The securing member is engagedwith one of the corresponding vents. The opening is aligned with thevents. The pair of upright walls bilaterally extend up from oppositeedges of the base, and define a receiving space for receiving a part ofthe housing.

Other advantages and novel features will become more apparent from thefollowing detailed description when taken in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings, in which:

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an exploded, isometric view of an electronic device inaccordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, theelectronic device including a housing and a supporting member;

FIG. 2 is partly cut-away isometric view of the supporting member ofFIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of a circled portion III of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a top view of the supporting member of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is an assembled view of the electronic device of FIG. 1;

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Referring to FIG. 1, an electronic device 10 in accordance with anexemplary embodiment of the present invention comprises a housing 30 anda supporting member 50 for supporting the housing 30.

The housing 30 is used for receiving electrical components (not shown)such as chips, circuit boards, power supply devices and so on. Thehousing 30 comprises a wall 31, a plurality of vents 32 for dissipatingheat generated by the electrical components received in the housing 30,a recessed portion 36, and a screw 34. The vents 32 are disposed on thewall 31 in line. Each vents 32 has a rounded rectangular cross-section.The recessed portion 36 is disposed on the wall 31 and is adjacent tothe vents 32. The screw 34 is installed in the recessed portion 36.

Referring also to FIGS. 2-4, the supporting member 50 comprises a base52, and a pair of upright walls 54. The base 52 and the upright walls 54are integrally formed. The upright walls 54 bilaterally extend up fromopposite edges of the base 52, and define a receiving space 53 forreceiving a part of the housing 30. The base 52 comprises a protrudingportion 521, a pair of securing members 522, a pair of through-holes523, an opening 525, and a receiving portion 524. The opening 525 isdisposed in a middle of the base 52, and extends through oppositesurfaces of the base 52. The through-holes 523 are disposed adjacent toopposite edges of the opening 525. Each through-hole 523 partlyencircles the corresponding securing member 522, thus increasingresilience of the securing member 522. The protruding portion 521 isdisposed on an end of the base 52 and is adjacent to one of the securingmembers 522. The protruding portion 521 is semi-ring shaped, and definesa receiving portion in a middle thereof. The supporting member 50further comprises a plurality of ribs 527. The ribs 527 are disposed oninner surfaces of the upright walls 54 thus reinforcing the supportingmember 50.

Each securing member 522 comprises a resilient portion 5223, a firstupright portion 5225, a second upright portion 5226, and a hook 5224.The resilient portion 5223 extends from an inner wall of thecorresponding through-hole 523 toward the opening 525, and comprises afirst surface 5221 and an opposite second surface 5222. A thickness ofthe resilient portion 5223 is thinner than that of the base 52. Thefirst upright portion 5225 is perpendicular to the first surface 5221,and is disposed on a distal end of the resilient portion 5223. The hook5224 is disposed on a distal end of the first upright portion 5225. Thehook 5224 comprises an arced surface 5228, and an inclined surface 5227connecting to the arced surface 5228. The inclined surface 5227 and thefirst upright portion 5225 cooperatively define an angle b therebetween.The angle b is an obtuse angle. The second upright portion 5226 isperpendicular to the second surface 5222, and is disposed on a distalend of the resilient portion 5223. The first upright portion 5225 isaligned with the second upright portion 5223.

Referring also to FIG. 5, in assembly, each second upright portion 5226of the corresponding securing members 522 are pushed toward the opening525 by external force to deform the resilient portions 5223, therebyurging the second upright portions 5226 and the corresponding hooks 5224to move away from the opening 525. And thus, the hooks 5224 of the firstupright portions 5225 are easily inserted into the corresponding vents32, hooking edges of the vents 32, thereby engaging the securing member522 with the corresponding vents 32. The base 52 of the supportingmember 50 abuts against the wall 31 of the housing 30. The protrudingportion 521 is received in the recessed portion 36. A header of thescrew 34 is received in the receiving portion 524. The opening 525 isaligned with the vents 32.

In disassembly, each second upright portion 5226 of the correspondingsecuring member 522 is pushed toward the opening 525 by external forceto distort the resilient portions 5223, thereby making the secondupright portions 5226 and the corresponding hooks 5224 move away fromthe opening 525, and the hooks 5224 of the first upright portions 5225disengage from the vents 32. Thus, the supporting member 20 can beeasily removed from the housing 30.

With the hooks 5224 being engaged with edges of the vents 32, and theprotruding portion 521 being received in the recessed portion 36 of thehousing 30, the housing 30 is stably mounted on the supporting member50. The opening 525 is aligned with the vents 32, thus facilitatingheat-dissipation of the housing 30. In addition, because of the arcedsurface 5228, the securing member 522 is easily engaged with thecorresponding vents 32. Furthermore, because the angle b is an obtuseangle, the securing member 522 is easily disengaged from the vents 32thus the supporting member 50 is easily removed from the housing 30 whennecessary.

While exemplary embodiments have been described above, it should beunderstood that they have been presented by way of example only and notby way of limitation. Thus the breadth and scope of the presentinvention should not be limited by the above-described exemplaryembodiments, but should be defined only in accordance with the followingclaims and their equivalents.

1. An electronic device, comprising: a housing comprising a wall and aplurality of vents disposed on the wall; and a supporting member forsupporting the housing, comprising: a base comprising at least onesecuring member engaged with one of the plurality of vents, and anopening aligned with the vents; and a pair of upright walls bilaterallyextending up from opposite edges of the base, and defining a receivingspace for receiving a part of the housing.
 2. The electronic device asclaimed in claim 1, wherein the base defines at least one through-holeencircling the corresponding securing member.
 3. The electronic deviceas claimed in claim 2, wherein the at least one through-hole comprises apair of through-holes disposed adjacent to opposite edges of theopening.
 4. The electronic device as claimed in claim 3, wherein the atleast one securing member comprises a pair of securing members.
 5. Theelectronic device as claimed in claim 4, wherein each through-holepartly encircles the corresponding securing member.
 6. The electronicdevice as claimed in claim 1, wherein the securing member comprises aresilient portion comprising a first surface and an opposite secondsurface, a thickness of the resilient portion being thinner than that ofthe base.
 7. The electronic device as claimed in claim 6, wherein thesecuring member further comprises a first upright portion perpendicularto the first surface, the first upright portion being disposed on adistal end of the resilient portion.
 8. The electronic device as claimedin claim 7, wherein the securing member further comprises a hookdisposed on a distal end of the first upright portion.
 9. The electronicdevice as claimed in claim 8, wherein the hook comprises an arcedsurface and an inclined surface connecting to the arced surface, theinclined surface and the first upright portion cooperatively defining anangle.
 10. The electronic device as claimed in claim 9, wherein theangle is an obtuse angle.
 11. The electronic device as claimed in claim8, wherein the securing member further comprises a second uprightportion perpendicular to the second surface, the second upright portionbeing disposed on a distal end of the resilient portion.
 12. Theelectronic device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the housing furthercomprises a recessed portion disposed on the wall of the housing. 13.The electronic device as claimed in claim 12, wherein the base furthercomprises a protruding portion received in the recessed portion.
 14. Theelectronic device as claimed in claim 13, wherein the protruding portionis semi-ring shaped.
 15. The electronic device as claimed in claim 14,wherein the protruding portion defines a receiving portion in a middlethereof.
 16. The electronic device as claimed in claim 15, wherein thehousing further comprises a screw installed in the recessed portion, aheader of the screw being received in the receiving portion.
 17. Anelectronic device comprising: a housing of said electronic device; and asupporting member for supporting said housing to be placed along apredetermined orientation, said supporting member comprising twosecuring members formed in said supporting member and spaced from eachother, each of said two securing members comprising a resilient portioncantilevered and extending toward the other of said two securingmembers, a first upright portion formed at an extending end of saidresilient portion and extending toward said housing, and a hook formedat an extending end of said first upright portion, said hook and saidfirst upright portion of said each of said two securing memberspivotally movable relative to said resilient member of said each of saidtwo securing members between a first position of said hook and saidfirst upright portion where said hook is moved closest to said other ofsaid two securing members in order to engage with said housing andsecure said supporting member to said housing, and a second position ofsaid hook and said first upright portion where said hook is movedfarthest away from said other of said two securing members in order todisengage from said housing and release said supporting member.
 18. Theelectronic device as claimed in claim 17, wherein said each of said twosecuring members further comprises a second upright portion form at anextending end of said resilient portion and extending opposite to saidfirst upright portion so as to be user-operable to control movement ofsaid hook and said first upright portion between said first positionthereof and said second position thereof.
 19. An electronic devicecomprising: a housing of said electronic device; and a supporting memberfor supporting said housing to be placed along a predeterminedorientation, said supporting member comprising two securing membersformed in said supporting member and spaced from each other, each ofsaid two securing members comprising a hook extending toward saidhousing and facing the other of said two securing members, said hookpivotally movable to engage with said housing and secure said supportingmember to said housing by being moved toward said other of said twosecuring members, and to disengage from said housing and release saidsupporting member by being moved away from said other of said twosecuring members.
 20. The electronic device as claimed in claim 19,wherein said hook of said each of said two securing members is formed atan extending end of a first upright portion extending toward saidhousing, and a second upright portion extends from another end of saidfirst upright portion to extend opposite to said first upright portionso as to be exposable and user-operable to control movement of saidhook.